Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer capacitor comprising dielectrics and electrodes stacked alternately together.
Description of the Related Art
A multilayer capacitor is constituted by dielectric layers made of dielectric material, and internal electrode layers made of conductive material, which are stacked alternately together. The internal electrode layers are divided into positive electrodes connected to a positive terminal and negative electrodes connected to a negative terminal, and arranged in such a way that the positive electrodes and negative electrodes alternate.
For example, a multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) is produced through a number of steps that include applying a paste containing Ni or other metal material onto dielectric green sheets whose primary material is barium titanate or other dielectric material and then stacking the sheets into a laminate, compression-bonding and cutting the laminate, providing external electrodes, removing binder, and sintering, etc.
To make the MLCC smaller yet offering larger capacitance, it is necessary to make the dielectric layers and internal electrode layers thinner and stack them higher. Here, one effective way to achieve higher stacking is to reduce the thickness of the covers which are positioned at the top layer and bottom layer of the internal electrode crossing part where the internal electrode layers and dielectric layers are arranged alternately and which shield the internal electrode crossing part from the outside.
However, thinner covers mean higher chances of cracking and delamination. Additionally, insufficient moisture resistance or oxidization resistance leads to oxidization of the internal electrode layers and deterioration of the element characteristics. To avoid these consequences, methods have been proposed that involve setting the thickness of the internal electrode crossing part and that of the covers within certain ranges.